Medical tipping tables



May 14, 1963 o. BLOMQVIST 3,089,692

MEDICAL TIPPING TABLES Filed. April 5, 1961 ATTORNEK? United StatesPatent Orifice 3,089,692 patented May 14, 1963 3,089,692 MEDICALTTPE'ING TABLES Olle Blomqvist, Artillerigatan 38, Stockholm, SwedenFiled Apr. 3, 1961, Ser. No. 100,423 ll Claim. (631. 269-323) Thisinvention relates to medical tipping tables of the kind having a top orresting table which is adapted to support a patient and is tippable orrotatable from a substantially horizontal position to a substantiallyvertical position, a frame-work in which said top is arranged, at leastone spring unit, one end of which is secured to the top of the table andthe another end of which is secured to the frame-work, being adapted tocounter-balance the moment arising when tipping or turning the top ofthe table and a patient resting thereon around said axis. Such tablesare primarily used for raising patients, that is for transferring apatient lying in a bed from horizontal position to vertical positionstanding on the floor.

The main object of the invention is to provide a simple and inexpensivemedical tipping table of the above-mentioned kind which may be manuallyswung or tipped with a minimum of effort.

With this and other objects in view the spring unit of the tipping tableaccording to the invention comprises at least one compression springwhich is compressed when the top of the table is in its substantiallyhorizontally position and is attached to the top of the table and theframe-work at points located on the same side as the centre of the topof the table with respect to a vertical plane through the pivot axis ofthe top of the table during normal use of said tipping table.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become more fullyapparent from the following description and the accompanying drawingillustrating one preferred embodiment of the invention, and in which:

The single FIGURE is a side elevation of the medical tipping tableaccording to the invention.

The medical tipping table according to the invention comprises aframe-work 1, a spring unit 2, a resting table 3 provided with afoot-plate 4. The resting table or top of the table 3 is shown in fulllines in its horizontal position and in dash-dot lines in its somewhatinclined but substantially vertical position of equilibrium, a patientresting on the table being also represented in dash-dot lines in thelatter position of the top of the table 3'. In this position the centreof gravity 6 of the combined load consisting of the top of the table 3,the foot plate 4 and the patient is located in the same vertical planeas the axis of rotation 5 of the top of the table. The spring unit maybe comprised of two telescopic tubes 7, 8 which have closed outer endsand are pivotally secured to the framework 1 and the top of the table 3respectively. A compression spring 9 is arranged Within the telescopictubes 7 and 8 and has its ends abutting against the closed ends of thetubes 7 and 8 respectively. Alternatively the spring unit may compriseany suitable number of compression springs and telescopic tubes. Theupper telescopic tube 8 is provided with a suitable locking device bymeans of which the top of the table 3 and a patient resting thereon maybe held in the position desired, eg in the horizontal position. When thetop of the table 3 and the patient resting thereon is in the somewhatinclined but substantially vertical position of equilibrium representedin dash-dot lines, the compression spring 9 is in its state ofequilibrium, that is neither compressed, nor expanded. When the top ofthe table 3 and the patient is swung downwards (counter-clockwise)towards the ground plane, the centre of gravity 6 of the patient and thetop of the table 3 and its foot plate 4 is successively displaced fromthe vertical plane through the axis of rotation 5, whereby the momenttending to lower the head end of the top of the table 3 is progressivelyincreased, at the same time as the compression spring 9 located in thetelescopic tubes 7, S becomes more and more compressed. The more the topof the table 3 is rotated, the more the spring 9 is compressed and themore the force thereof counter-balancing the swinging movement isincreased. By adjusting the length and the compression force of thespring in such a way, that said force, which varies (increases) from theposition of equilibrium to the horizontal position, approximatelyeliminates or counter-balances the tipping movement as completely aspossible the tipping table 3 may be raised or lowered at will with aminimum of effort to the position desired and then blocked in thisposition by means of the locking device 10. If the top of the table 3should be swung clock-wise more than illustrated by dash-dot lines inthe drawing, the spring 9 should tend to pull back the top of the tableto its inclined position represented. This means that the equilibrium ofthe tipping table is stable.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described withreference to one preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood bythose skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may bemade therein without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention.

What I claim is:

An elongated, medical tilting table comprising a top which is adapted tosupport a patient and is tiltable from a substantially vertical positionto a substantially horizontal position on a pivot axis substantiallyperpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the tilting table andlocated between one end of the top of the tilting table and the centerthereof; a footplate united with said end of the tilting table andprojecting therefrom; a framework carrying said top of the table; and atleast one spring unit adapted to counterbalance moments arising whentilting the top of the table and the patient resting thereon on saidaxis and comprising at least one compression spring which issubstantially relaxed when said top is in its substantially verticalposition and compressed when said top of the table is in itssubstantially horizontal position, one end of said spring unit beinghingedly secured to said framework in a first junction point located atthe same side of said pivot axis as the center of said top of the table,the other end of said spring unit being hingedly secured to said top ofthe table in a second junction point located between said pivot axis andsaid first junction for any tilting angle of said top of the table, theratio of the spacings between said junction points when said top is inits horizontal and vertical positions respectively being greater than1/2.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,854,296 Emmert Apr. 19, 1932 1,912,471 Brewster June 6, 1933 2,461,627Brewster Feb. 15, 1949 2,699,367 Lirrhaus et al. Jan. 11, 1955 2,735,738Berne Feb. 21, 1956 2,787,506 Trarisano Apr. 2, 1957 2,903,263 RossSept. 8, 1959 2,932,038 Sprague Apr. 12, 1960

